Biting flying insects and arthropods have been troubling humans and their pets for as long as history is written. Flying insects such as Mosquitoes, wasps and even the common house fly detract from the enjoyment of outside activities. Mosquitoes in particular are the kind of flying insects that can not only cause annoyance but serious health problems. Diseases such as malaria, West Nile Virus and encephalitis are believed carried by mosquitoes and such diseases are transferred when a mosquito breaks the barrier that protects humans and animals from outside influences, the skin. Studies have shown that mosquitoes prefer small mammals to humans as the mosquitoes are more naturally attracted to mammalian scents than human scents. Animals are also affected, in some cases worse than humans are, as animals are not able to assimilate modern medications as well as humans to counteract the poisons in their systems introduced by disease carrying biting insects. Arthropods such as ticks, which can spread Lyme disease, fleas and common garden pests such as aphids and mites, are the targets of many eradication efforts of the homeowner. Animals are also more susceptible to arthropods than humans as animals are in locales which are native to the arthropods, such as grassy fields, which tend to be in the places animals live and play.
The benefit of the seed of the Pyrethrum Daisy, Tanacetum cinerariarfolium, a member of the Chrysanthemum family, has been found in early Chinese writing. The tiny oil glands surrounding the seed case contain the naturally occurring substance Pyrethrum, which is made up of six complex chemical esters known as Pyrethrins which work in combination to repel and in sufficient concentrations, kill harmful insects. When Pyrethrum is mixed with synergists, which are compounds that multiply the effects of their host chemical, Pyrethrum is effective against large range of biting or harmful insects and arthropods. The synergist commonly used with Pyrethrum is Piperonyl Butoxide. At lowest concentrations (0.005-0.1%), Pyrethrum acts on harmful insects to affect abnormal behavior in the female of the species, causing them to either to flee the area or to not continue their normal behavior of finding warm blood in their hosts. At greater concentrations (0.1-0.5%), insects loose their normal behavioral pattern, acting erratically by coming out of hiding and into the open area where they are consumed by their natural enemies or they can come in contact with more Pyrethrum. At higher concentrations, Pyrethrum causes insect's central nervous to become greatly over-sensitive causing a rush of sensory messages throughout the body causing paralysis and death. The main benefits of this natural insecticide include it's non-toxicity to humans and animals, due to the fact that humans and animals can not metabolize the chemical in their bodies, there is a non-persistent buildup in the environment and it is fast acting. Non-persistent buildup in the environment, which is caused by the breakdown of this chemical quickly by sunlight called phytotoxicity, contributes to the extremely low incidence of insect resistance. Pyrethrum has a very fast paralyzing action which causes the insects to end up on the floor, or what is commonly referred to as knockdown. Modernly, naturally occurring Pyrethrum has been synthesized into a compound called Permethrin. This synthesized version is not intended to repel insects as it works as a contact insecticide, stunning or killing insects that come in contact with the synthesized compound.
There are two basic modes of dealing with flying insects; either attract and kill or detract and avoid. Repellants can be natural with a botanical origin, such as citronella, or synthetic chemicals or even sound waves as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,215, issued Oct. 22, 2002 to Nelson. Repellants of a synthetic nature kill flying insects and arthropods usually on contact usually by altering the method signals are sent from the body to the brain via the neural network of nerves and sensors. Repellants that are not topically absorbed by the insects can linger in the surrounding area to serve as a deterrent from flying near the treated area. Unfortunately, those chemicals with persistent buildups will be counterproductive, as insects are able to develop immunities to chemicals if they are constantly introduced to a particular chemical. Repellants of a natural organic base, either are applied to surfaces which are known to attract insects or are carried through the air through means of air currents.
Attractants can include several different approaches in any one device. Common attractants include Carbon dioxide, aromatics, both natural and chemical, sunlight, as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,984 issued Sep. 16, 2003 to Li and devices that mimic the human or animal bodily functions of respiration as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,025 issued on Apr. 18, 2000 to Wilbanks. It has long been known that the air that is exhaled by humans and pets contain warm Carbon Dioxide, which has been determined to be an attractant to flying insects. Studies have shown that mosquitoes can be attracted from a distance as far as 100 feet away by the presence of Carbon Dioxide expelled by living organisms. Light is also an attractant, as one only has to turn on a light on a summer's night, to see the mosquitoes and moths gathering. Some devices use heat combined with pheromones or natural attractants to act as a lure to draw insects into chambers where they are unable to escape or are electrocuted. Some devices use a combination of heat, Carbon Dioxide and chemical attractants such as octenol. U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,946, issued Jul. 22, 2003 to Nolen. Once the insect is attracted then the device is hopefully sufficient in design to dispatch with the insect, usually through means of electrocution, death by drowning or starvation as they trapped and too confused to find their way out of their trap. Arthropods are generally dealt with where they nest and breed through chemical means. They generally respond to biological based attractants placed in such locations, as their natural surroundings in which they live and breed.
Presently available prior art can be broken down into two categories, either fogging, exuding a chemical agent through the use of positive pressure or passive or stationary devices. Fogging units can expel toxic chemicals, combination of natural or synthetic compounds or gas. Passive units try to attract flying insects toward the device whereby the insect is either trapped or killed on contact with the surface of the device.
Passive units provide an array of options. Units mounted on houses as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,545 issued Jul. 15, 2003 to Bruent is a classic model where an electric grid is used to kill the insects attracting them with Carbon Dioxide. Passive units unfortunately fill with killed insects causing health problems and unfortunately attract flying insects to where the humans exist, rather than keeping the flying insects away from the human and pets in the first place. These devices also kill indiscriminately so beneficial insects will be killed along with the biting flying insects that one is trying to eradicate. This killing of beneficial insect is actually counterproductive as many insects actually deter the presence of the biting insects. Killing the beneficial insects only allows more of the biting insects to more easily survive their natural predators. These devices are also limited in location by their source of power limiting their distance from locations where humans and their pets use for their enjoyment. The increased emission of Carbon Dioxide by these devices also aids to the deterioration of the earth's atmosphere. These greenhouse gases can be detrimental to the ozone layer that protects our planet from the harmful infrared rays of the sun.
Fogging systems can be as simple as a can of bug spray to vehicle mounted systems powered by gas turbines. U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,407 issued Mar. 7, 2000 to Conner. These devices use mechanical means to distribute either repellant or attractant type of natural or systematic chemicals via a pressured means. One advantage of this kind of system is that it can be used at a greater distance from people and their pets. It is critical to the successful device that the chemical is dispersed in a very fine droplet form for the maximum coverage and so that natural air currents can be used to further spread the application of the chemical. It is also critical that care is used in the storage, concentrating, dilution, and delivery of the chemical agent. Since fogging system are mechanical devices, it is also critical that safety of the operator and those whose activities bring them near to the fogging device, are protected and guarded against accidental contact with the harmful chemicals and mechanical devices.
The present invention is in the fogging class of devices, and is used by residential or commercial users. Currently this size of fogging device is usually mounted on a 55 gallon drum which is filled with chemicals and water, whereupon a pump is placed on top of the drum and a supply line is run from the unit to atomizing misting devices. Companies such as Bug Defense, Mosquito Mister and Ritterhouse make such units and are generally sold through-out markets in the Southeast.